Library can help research of home history

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Cynthia Van Ness

As Buffalo's appreciation grows for our historic Victorian cityscape, owners of old homes wonder if their home was designed by a "name" architect. Religious congregations want to research their place of worship. Companies are finding that restoring their buildings with historical accuracy helps to establish a unique, prestigious corporate identity, setting them apart from competitors.

If you want to know more, the Special Collections Department of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library has a number of resources to help identify your building's age, previous occupants and, in some cases, the architect. While Erie County's towns and villages also have a wealth of historic buildings, space does not permit us to cover the architectural research resources of the entire county.

The following books offer excellent research advice or historical background. Unfortunately, they are out of print or commercially unavailable, so ask your local librarian for:

? Eleanor O'Donnell's, "Researching a Historic Property" (National Register Bulletin No. 39). This government document lists extensive sources for architectural research and explains how to get a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

? The "Nearby History" series put out by the American Association for State and Local History in Nashville, Tenn., 1990. These are an excellent set of handbooks for architectural and local history research.

? Alan Gowans' "The Comfortable House: North American Suburban Architecture, 1890-1930 (circa l986). This book describes urban, middle-class houses and the commercial plan books from which they usually originated. The houses shown here look so familiar that you'll think Gowans was writing about Buffalo.

How to get started. Dig out your title search. The title search will not tell you when your building was erected, so you may have to use stylistic clues to narrow down your building's age.

What does the Special Collections Department have? There are several historical resources for Buffalo architectural research. The Special Collections Department, which houses the library's local history collection, is a non-circulating department, meaning that the items described below must be used on the premises:

? Buffalo city directories are available from 1828 to present, with some gaps. City directories list Buffalo residents in alphabetical name order, including their occupations. From 1931 to the present, the directories have a geographic section, listing occupants by street address, which is key for tracing your building's occupants.

? Buffalo address books and Dau's society blue books are available from 1885-1940, with some gaps. These "social" directories concentrated on Buffalo's wealthy, Anglo West Side -- and totally ignored the ethnic East Side. Like the city directories, they contain a geographic section, which lists families by street address. Due to fragility, some volumes are in the library's closed stacks and must be retrieved by the Special Collections Department staff.

? Sanborn fire insurance atlases from 1880-1963, with some gaps. Sanborn maps contain diagrams of every city block, including every building, indicating the type of construction, number of stories, use, and, in the case of larger commercial buildings, the occupant.

? Buffalo city atlases from 1872, 1884, 1891, 1894 and 1915. The Buffalo atlases published in these years also show every building, but not in the scale or detail found in the Sanborn maps.

? Buffalo Common Council Proceedings from 1854 to present. It appears that the city began to issue building permits in the 1870s, each of which required Common Council approval. Prior to 1887, look in the index under the owner's last name. From 1887-1906, look in the index under "Permits"; they're arranged by owner's name. From 1907-1950, the permits are arranged by address. Actual permits from 1895 to present are on file at City Hall, Room 301. Finding a permit will date your building and, in some cases, identify the architect.

? Local History File deals mainly with the 20th century. The file is a card index to Buffalo newspapers and other sources. Use it to look up the names in your title search; and you might find obituaries of previous owners. Also look in the LHF to find newspaper articles about businesses, churches, local architects, etc.

? Buffalo Scrapbook Collection also deals mainly with the 20th century. The library's prized scrapbook of more than 400 volumes has features on Buffalonians, homes, churches, industries, hotels and taverns, schools, banks, hospitals, public buildings, theaters, railroads and more. Composed mainly of newspaper articles, the scrapbooks are fully indexed in the LHF (see above).

? Vertical File has years available from about 1870 to the present. Department librarians have been copying articles about Buffalo buildings from architectural trade journals. The VF has a growing collection of articles about major area buildings and residences designed by professional architects such as E.B. Green and Frank Lloyd Wright.

? "Buffalo Theatres Prior to 1930" -- This 400-page manuscript is the work of Ranjit Sandhu, a theater historian. It comprehensively documents every known Buffalo theater, music hall, opera house, nickelodeon, movie house, auditorium, and saloon-with-a-stage built prior to 1930, with indexes by address and theater name.

Described here are just some of the resources available for architectural research. Many other unique books, periodicals, maps, and indexes can be found at the library. If you are interested in a Buffalo building, pay us a visit in the Special Collections Department. Chances are good that you can trace some of its history.

Keep in mind that there are three things that the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library does NOT have:

? Period photographs. For pictures, visit the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society's library (873-9612), which has an extensive photograph collection, including hundreds of area house pictures. However, not every Buffalo building has been photographically documented.

? Architectural plans & drawings. The library does not have plans or drawings for area buildings, except for major commissions (factories, office buildings and mansions) that were featured in architectural journals. For drawings, contact the Building Permits Office in City Hall (851-4924). In their possession are some drawings, mainly for 20th century buildings. Submitting plans or drawings has been a permit requirement only for new construction in this century.

? Deeds and ownership records: These are on file at the Erie County Clerk's Office (858-8865).

For further assistance with your architectural research, call the librarians in the Special Collections Department at 858-7114.

Cynthia Van Ness is a librarian with the Special Collections Department at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.

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